Samuel Huston (c1710-1784)/Notes
From: Smokeykin.com (Most of which is taken directly from Huston, 1912 Samuel Huston :b 1710, , Lancaster, Pennsylvania :d Oct1784, , Cumberland, Pennsylvania :bur , Cumberland, Pennsylvania Samuel Huston = Isabella Sharon Children 1 William Huston 2 < Samuel Huston 3 < Margaret Huston 4 < Mary Huston 5 Ann Huston 6 < Jane Huston 7 < James Huston 8 < Isabella Huston 9 John Huston 10 < Jonathan Huston Notes Samuel Huston is believed to be born in Ireland. He is thought to be brother of John Huston who arrived in Cumberland Valley Pennsylvania about 1735 and removed to Virginia on 'Burdens Tract', in Rockbridge County in 1745. is mostlikely NOT true [[User:WMWillis|Bill] 01:16, 25 August 2007 (UTC)] Christopher Huston is also believed to be his brother. Christopher Huston settled in the same neighborhood as Samuel. Samuel Huston's sister Janet married John Clendenin and also lived in Samuel's neighborhood. When Cumberland County, Pennsylvania was formed in 1750 there was among the taxables within its territory a Samuel Huston, as appears by the records in the Commissioner's Office at Carlisle. He was located in the part of East Pensboro township that is now Silver Spring. [ Huston, 1912 makes a reasonable case for Christopher being the brother of Samuel, but rightfully does not conclude it as proven. Bill 01:16, 25 August 2007 (UTC) The records of the Internal Affairs Office show that on 9 November 1752 Samuel Huston obtained a warrant for a tract of land in East Pennsboro township, Cumberland County, the survey for which was returned on 7 March 1753. The warrant for Samuel Huston's tract called for 200 acres but the survey made it 240 acres. The draft on record shows that it was bounded on the south by lands of John Sample; on the east by John Carson and Richard Peters; on the north by Robert Carothers, and on the west by John McClellan. Samuel Huston was a member of the Silver Spring Presbyterian Church, now made famous in history as the first church west of the Susquehanna river. His name appears upon the church records in 1764 along with that of 42 other members of this church and Carlisle who signed a call for the Rev. John Steel to become pastor of this church. Samuel Huston was 'a private in Captain Henry McKinley's company, 12th Pennsylvania regiment, commanded by Colonel William Cook, Revolutionary War.' He appears on a receipt roll which shows that he entered the service 11 November 1776, that he was in the service one month and four days and received 2 pounds 16 shillings and 8 pence as the full amount of his pay and 2 pounds and 8 shillings as subsistence. On 16 September 1784 Samuel Huston of East Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, made his will, which was probated on 12 October 1784. Samuel Huston gave all his lands or real estate to his two younger sons, John and Jonathan, to be held by them and their heirs in common, with the proviso that they pay to his son William the sum of twenty-eight pounds, and to his son Samuel fifty pounds in certain stipulated payments. To his wife he gave one-third of his personal property, together with a reasonable maintenance out of his real estate, and named his sons John and Jonathan as the executors of his will. The witnesses to the will were Jonathan Hoge, Walter and John Buchanan. Jonathan Hoge being a Justice of Peace at the time, it is probable that he wrote the will. Samuel Houston was buried in Pine Hill Graveyard located in the northwestern corner of the old Samuel Huston farm, near the edge of a precipitous hill. Sources: 'McTeer - Mateer Families of Cumberland County Pennsylvania', Frances Davis McTeer, 1975, p 31. 'History of the Huston Families and their Descendants', E. Rankin Huston, 1912:4, 25, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 82, 202. Janis Arlene (Meadath) Krulock family group sheets, 7 July 1994, p 4. From: Biographical Annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Chicago: The Genealogical Publishing Co., 1905, pages 676-680 fide: :1) Rootsweb :2) Ancestry THE HUSTON FAMILY. The earliest appearance of the name Huston in Cumberland county was in 1743. In February of that year some of the inhabitants of East Pennsboro township petitioned the court at Lancaster for action in the case of a proposed road, and among the names on that petition appears that of John Huston. A history of the Virginia Hustons, written by Rev. Samuel Huston, states that John Huston came to America from Ireland about the year 1735 and "first settled in Pennsylvania." About the year 1745 he and his family removed to Rockbridge county, Va. John Huston had a son, Samuel, who married Elizabeth Paxton, and by her had nine children, among whom was a son Samuel, who became the famous Gen. Sam. Houston of Texas. On July 4, 1848, a Democratic meeting was held in Carlisle at which Gen. Houston, then United States senator, was the guest of honor. He was the principal speaker of the occasion and the chairman of the meeting. Hon. John Clendenin, in introducing him to the audience, closed with these words: "The Democracy of Old Mother Cumberland delight to do him honor, and bid him a hearty welcome to the home of his ancestors." If, as early as 1848, in the man's presence, it was publicly said without contradiction that Old Mother Cumberland was the home of Gen. Houston's ancestors it can now be accepted as a settled fact. And as the John Huston on the old road petition was the only John Huston known to have been in the county prior to 1762 it can be also accepted as a fact that he was the grandfather of Gen. Houston. When in 1750 Cumberland county was formed, there were among its taxables a Christopher Huston and a Samuel Huston. Both were located in the part of East Pennsboro township that is now Silver Spring. Christopher was there as early as 1744, as is shown by the records, and in 1748 was tax collector of the township. Whether these Hustons were relatives of the aforesaid John Huston cannot be definitely determined, but being all of Scotch-Irish nationality, and settling in the same section so near the same time, the presumption is that they were. They may have been brothers. In November, 1752, Samuel Huston took out a warrant for a tract of land, the survey of which was returned the following March. The tract contained 240 acres and was bounded on the south by lands of John Sample; on the east by John Carson and Richard Peters; on the north by Robert Carrithers; and on the west by John McClellan. The chain of title shows that this land has been divided up into two farms which are now owned by Abraham Gutshall and Harry W. Shaull. This Samuel Huston was mar- CUMBERLAND COUNTY. 677 ried to Isabella Sharon, of whose former history but little can be ascertained. It is known that a James Sharon, and after him his son James, lived upon and owned a tract of land in East Pennsboro, immediately to the west of where Samuel Huston located, but the last of the family disappeared from the locality soon after the Hustons came. On Sept. 15, 1784, Samuel Huston made his will, which was probated on Oct. 12th, same year. In it he names four sons: William, Samuel, John and Jonathan. John and Jonathan he designates "my two younger sons." Although not named in the will it appears from other court records that he also had a son James. No daughters are named, but it is a well authenticated fact that there were five, as follows: Margaret, Anne, Isabella, Mary and Jane. As near as can be ascertained these ten children ranged in order of age as follows: William, Samuel, Margaret, Mary, Anne, Jane, James, Isabella, John and Jonathan. There is nothing to show that William and John ever married. A William Huston was captain in a regiment of Cumberland county militia called into service in August, 1776, under Col. Frederick Watts, and it is probable that he was this William Huston. He disappeared from the East Pennsboro list of taxables in 1795. John Huston lived upon the old Huston homestead, bequeathed to him by his father, till his death. He died in 1811, and his estate became involved in litigation which was not terminated until in 1828. Samuel married Esther Waugh, and by her had children as follows: John, Samuel, James, Richard, Esther and William. Margaret married John Huston, a son of Christopher Huston, and by him had the following children: Jonathan, James, John, Samuel, William, Ann, Isabella and Mrs. Kinkaid. John Huston purchased a tract of land in West Pennsboro while West Pennsboro yet included Dickinson and Penn townships. A few years afterward he moved to this newly acquired possession and he and his descendants were long some of the most prominent and influential people of that part of the county. Mary, the fourth child, married John Mateer, whose name upon the early records is sometimes spelled McTeer. The Mateers were also some of the earliest settlers on the north side of the Conedoguinet creek in East Pennsboro, in the same neighborhood that the Hustons lived. Afterward they removed to the part of Allen township that is now Lower Allen. John Mateer was a captain in the war of the Revolution. John and Mary (Huston) Mateer had issue as follows: Samuel Huston, John, Andrew, Alice, Isabella, Mary and Ann. Andrew, the third son, married Ann, a daughter of John and Margaret (Huston) Huston, of Dickinson township. He was a useful and prominent citizen of the vicinity of Lisburn during all of his active life, was long justice of the peace and universally known as "Squire Mateer." John Huston died in April, 1780, aged fifty-four years; his wife, Mary Huston, died in February, 1812, aged seventy-three years, and the remains of both and also those of many of their descendants, are buried in the cemetery of the Silver Spring Church. Anne Huston, the fifth child, married James Gibson, but nothing is known as to where they lived or what family they had. In 1761 there came to America from County Antrim, Ireland, a scholarly young man named John Creigh, who for a time found employment in the family of Samuel Huston. Jane, the sixth child of Samuel and Isabella (Sharon) Huston, married this 678 CUMBERLAND COUNTY. young Irish tutor and by him became the mother of a most illustrious family. John Creigh subsequently became a lawyer at Carlisle and rose to great distinction and usefulness. At the commencement of the war for American independence he joined the patriot army and speedily was advanced to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In June, 1776, he was a representative of Cumberland county to the convention which declared that the Colony of Pennsylvania was free and independent of Great Britain. He afterward served with his regiment in New Jersey and participated in the battles of Germantown and other engagements. After returning to his home he was chosen an associate judge, also a ruling elder of the Presbyterian Church at Carlisle, and held both offices up to his death. John and Jane (Huston) Creigh had the following children: Isabella, Thomas, Samuel, John, Mary and Elizabeth. The Creighs for three generations figured prominently in the social and business life of Pennsylvania. The son John graduated from Dickinson College and from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania. He afterward lived at Landisburg, Perry county, where for twenty years he practiced his profession, and part of that time engaged in the manufacture of iron. He married Eleanor Dunbar and had a large family. One of his sons was the Hon. John D. Creigh, of California; one Dr. Alfred Creigh, of Washington, Pa., and another Rev. Dr. Thomas Creigh, who for fifty years was pastor of the Mercersburg Presbyterian Church. James Huston, the son who was not named in his father's will, in September, 1785, bought a farm at the head of Penn's creek, in what is now Center, but at that time was yet included within the bounds of Cumberland county. In the deed conveying it the seller is designated as "James Huston, of Philadelphia, innholder;" and the purchaser as "James Huston, Jr., distiller, of East Pennsboro, Cumberland county." "Junior" here does not indicate that James Huston, of East Pennsboro, "distiller," was a son of James Huston, of Philadelphia, "innholder," for there is a record in the orphans court of Cumberland county showing that he was a brother of John Huston, who in the will of Samuel Huston is designated as one of the testator's "two younger sons." He in all probability was a nephew of James Huston, of Philadelphia, "innholder." James Huston was born in 1758, served in the war of the Revolution, and from 1780 to 1786 appears regularly on the East Pennsboro tax list as a freeman. He then disappears from the records and never re-appears in Cumberland county as a citizen. He removed to his farm in Penn's Valley, married, and ever afterward lived in that part of the State. He married Catharine Ewing, whose father, James Ewing, was one of the early settlers of the vicinity of McCormick's Fort, in Huntingdon county. In 1782, when about twelve years old, Catharine Ewing was captured by the Indians and for seven days marched through the wilderness in rain, sleet and snow to Canada. She was taken to Montreal and there held a captive until after the war, when she was exchanged and sent to Philadelphia. From Philadelphia she finally found her way back to her home. James and Catharine (Ewing) Huston had issue as follows: Samuel, Mary, Thomas, Isabella, Catherine and Margaret. Four of these children married and raised large families. Some of their descendants are yet living in central Pennsylvania, but many have scattered to distant parts of the country and not a few have won fame and distinction. CUMBERLAND COUNTY. 679 Isabella Huston, the eighth child, on Oct. 14, 1765, married James Clendenin, Rev. John Conrad Bucher performing the ceremony. James Clendenin was the youngest child of John and Janet (Huston) Clendenin and Isabella Huston's first cousin. By him she had children as follows: Jonathan, John, Margaret, William, Jennie, Mary, Annie, Isabella and James. Her first husband died while she was yet a young woman and she afterward married Nathaniel Eckels, a widower, who by his former marriage also had a family. Isabella (Huston) (Clendenin) by Nathaniel Eckels, her second husband, had two sons, William and Francis Eckels, who lived in Silver Spring township, were prominent and influential citizens and raised large families, and some of their descendants reached high public positions in the State and Nation. Clendenin and Eckels family histories appear elsewhere in this volume. Jonathan, according to his father's will, was one of the two "younger sons" of Samuel Huston. It is probable that he was the youngest child. He and his brother John jointly received all the lands of their father's estate, but at some time must have made partition of them, for when in 1808 John made his will he severally owned the farm originally located by his father, while Jonathan was sole owner of the farm adjoining him on the north. Jonathan married Margaret Rankin McIntyre and always lived on his farm in Silver Spring township. He died Nov. 10, 1830, near the place where he was born, aged seventy years. His wife died Aug. 24, 1846, aged seventy-six years. Their remains were first interred in Pine Hill graveyard, but subsequently removed to the cemetery of the Silver Spring Church, where their resting-place is marked by tombstones which are still in good condition. Among the improvements that Jonathan Huston made upon the farm he long owned was a large stone house of a type common to the period immediately succeeding the Revolution. This he built about the year 1821, on an elevated point, where it stands to-day as a landmark of the past and a memorial to the man whose industry and enterprise erected it. After his death the farm became the property of his heirs, who in April, 1847, conveyed it to Jacob Deemy. Since then it has had several owners and for the past twenty-five years has been the property of James Angeny. Upon the land for which Samuel Huston obtained a warrant in 1752 is a burying-ground which in its time has been famous. It is located in the western part of the farm - now owned by Abraham Gutshall - near the edge of a precipitous hill. Originally it was in a dense wood of tall pine trees, from which circumstance it has been known, almost from the first, as the Pine Hill graveyard. Something of it still remains, but the wood about it has been cleared away to the very brink of the hill and the little shrunken graveyard is left up in a field where it is exposed to the danger of being farmed over and entirely obliterated. That neglected burying-ground now contains not a single tombstone upon which anything can be read, yet to the many descendants of the first settlers of that part of the county it is hallowed ground. Within its narrow confines reposes the dust of Samuel Huston and his wife Isabella Sharon; their nephew, Capt. John Clendenin and his wife Elizabeth, who was an aunt of John C. Calhoun, and members of the Huston family of the second, third and fourth generations. It is also the resting-place of several Revolutionary soldiers who were buried with the honors of war, and whose funerals were proba- 680 CUMBERLAND COUNTY. bly the most ostentatious and memorable events that that quiet section of the country ever saw. Interments of persons dying in the neighborhood were made in it as late as 1845, about which time the burying places connected with the neighboring churches began to be preferred, and the prestige of Pine Hill graveyard began to wane. A little north from the present farmhouse, at the head of a hollow, a spring rises which until recently was the water supply for both the house and for the stock at the barn. Its presence originally determined the location of the buildings, as the first settlers always built near running springs. Just below that spring there once stood a still house which will bear mention in these annals, for James Huston, before he purchased of James Huston, "innholder," the plantation in Penn's Valley, in it acquired the title "distiller." After James Huston removed to his possessions in Penn's Valley the distilling was continued by his brother, John Huston, who in May, 1787, bought of Thomas Johnston, distiller, "one Still and Head and worm, eight mashing Hogsheads, three shingling Bags and one fether bed," as may be seen from the bill of sale, which is a matter of record. Pennsylvania distillers in those days lacked reverence for the excise laws, and in 1794, when President Washington and his army came to Carlisle, to subdue the Whiskey Rebellion, John Huston and some of his more adventurous neighbors retired within this still house, and barricading its doors and windows watched through port-holes with loaded guns ready to fight and shoot if any soldiers came to disturb them. No soldiers, however, came or a bloody tragedy might have been enacted. This old log still house afterward was turned into a tenant house which in 1849 was torn down and a more modern dwelling-house erected in its stead. This second building in its turn also grew old and was removed, and now the spot where once stood an historic still house is farming ground and bears no vestige of ever having been otherwise occupied. Category:Notes pages